Diana Nyad Outwits Sharks, Jellyfish To Complete Cuba-To-Florida Swim

Rick Chandler

3:40 pm, September 2nd, 2013

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It took 50 hours and covered 112 miles of shark-infested ocean, but some people will do anything to get out of Cuba. Not sure how your Labor Day weekend is going, but Diana Nyad, age 64, spent hers swimming from Havana to Key West, FL. It was her fifth attempt to do so, the other four ending in failure.

This time she completed the journey, becoming the first human to make the swim between the two countries without a shark cage.

Surprisingly, Aquaman has so far been silent on the achievement. Here’s his latest tweet:

I just figured out that the big glowing thing on top of Black Manta is supposed to be his head.

Doctors travelling with Nyad during her swim reported today that the 64-year-old endurance swimmer was suffering from swollen lips and a swollen tongue, causing her speech to be slurred, but they had not yet intervened with the swim.

The 112-mile swim has stymied Nyad on four previous attempts, including three since 2010.

The four previous attempts were thwarted by a combination of ocean conditions, fatigue and/or jellyfish. This time she wore a special mask to protect against the box jellyfish who delight in stinging swimmers in the face.

She still ended up with a swollen face from all the salt water, but whatareya gonna do.

A remarkable athletic achievement to be sure, especially considering her age. But I’m going to hold off on calling it inspiring, because her obstacles were self-imposed. It’s not like she fell out of a boat and had to swim to the beach to survive. And she wasn’t blazing a trail for future Cuba-to-Florida swimmers. This will never be done again, and shouldn’t. Because it’s insane.